Different
by Last.one.02
Summary: When Elizabeth goes to Iran it feels different, like it isn't any other work trip. Something felt off. And then she came back and ignored what had happened. Jason is trying to figure out if his mom's okay and he turns to Stevie for that. Told from Jason's point of view. Spoilers for epis 1.16 and 1.17 Three-shot.
1. Different

There was something different in the morning.

Ever after his mother became the Secretary of State, she started making work trips, she was gone more than before and sometimes it was off the books. He had learned to ignore the gnawing feeling every time she left – it was always fine and the feeling had faded. On this morning it was back and stronger than ever.

Jason saw the way his father was looking at his mother, he saw the sadness and fear in his eyes. His father was the rock, he was always proud of his mother, he was always smiling. Not this morning. Oddly enough his father was looking at his mother longingly, almost as if he was trying to breathe everything in. Like it might be the last he'll see of her…

It had been going on for weeks now – late nights at the office, hushed conversations with his father, late night calls to her former friends from the CIA, the CIA friends stopping by… He had noticed the worry in his parents. Something was wrong, he knew it, but his parents were doing the best the could to keep it normal.

And then came that morning. Madam Secretary was not happy, she didn't seem excited for this trip, she hid it well though. Jason could see the worry in Stevie's face, when his mother refused to say the location of her trip. Well, that could be nothing, but it felt like it was something. While most of the time he didn't pay overly much attention to his mother's work and in a way he didn't mind the oblivion his parents created – he was well aware that his parents shielded him and his sisters a lot. He didn't like it this time.

And then he felt the difference.

Yeah, his mother is often annoyingly – at least he had to pretend not to like it – affectious, but even so in that morning. The way she held her arms around him for much longer than she normally would. The strength of her arms felt like she didn't want to let go, like she was afraid that if she'd let go, then that would be it. The way she reprimanded him not to annoy his sister on her birthday sounded like don't annoy his sister too much in the future. It almost felt like she was saying goodbye, but he tried to ignore the feeling.

It was harder, when he saw the way she hugged Stevie – tight, strong and seemed like she was holding onto Stevie just like she held onto him. And then the same with Alison. He saw the worry in Stevie's face, he saw the worry in his father's eyes, he felt it inside of him. Something was not right. Of course she said that she loved them like she did almost every morning, he heard his sisters say it back, he felt himself murmuring it quietly, but he was sure his mother heard that.

As she left the kitchen she looked back. She never does that. She looked sad, almost as if she wanted to come back to the kitchen and hug all of them again, to say how much she loves them again. And then she was gone and it was like a regular morning with his mother gone first and then his dad dropping Alison off to school and Stevie going to work, Jason was still suspended. Except his father looked worried and when Alison questioned it, he just brushed it off as something at work. Yeah, right.

The morning felt different and it was bad different.

Jason didn't say a word about it.

It was Alison's birthday the next day and for the first time (to his knowledge), his mother was not there. He knew his mother was in CIA before, but he was too little to remember that time, so was Alison. But Stevie being the eldest remembered that. That's why he needed to talk with his sister, his oldest sister.

After dinner, when Jason was sure that his father was in the bedroom and Alison was not in the hearing range, he knocked at Stevie's room.

"Hey, Jace, what's up?" Stevie said and looked at him over her book.

"What are you reading?" he asked.

Stevie closed the book and showed Jason the cover. "Just some random crime novel," she replied.

Jason brushed off the answer he entered the room and closed the door behind him.

"You know where mom is?" he asked bluntly.

Stevie closed her book and shook her head.

"Do you think dad knows?" Jason asked.

"I think so, but even if he does, he won't tell us," Stevie replied. Yes, when she was younger and her mother was still in the CIA, she had asked her father a lot of times, but he never said anything. She wasn't entirely sure he knew her location.

"But you think she's okay?" he asked quietly.

Stevie jumped off her bed and discarded the book. She hugged Jason, something she didn't too as often.

"Yeah, Jace, I think mom's okay. She's the Secretary of State, she has her security guys protecting her. So, I think she's fine," Stevie said, but there was some hint of uncertainty in her voice, like she was trying to convince herself just the same. She released Jason, both of them sat down on her bed.

"Dad's worried," Jason said. "If he knows where mom is and he is worried then it's bad, right?"

Stevie smiled a little. "Dad's always been worried about mom," she said in an attempt to calm her brother, when in fact she was worried just the same.

"Not like this," Jason argued.

"He used to be," Stevie said.

"When mom was in CIA?" Jason asked.

They didn't talk much about her time at the CIA and Stevie was the only child, who could remember. Jason was barely out of diapers, when she quit and there were days, when he felt like he was part of the reason why she quit. It might have been all of them – Stevie, Alison and him.

Stevie nodded. "But it was different. She's no longer CIA operative, she's the Secretary of State. I know for a fact, that President wouldn't put her in danger," Stevie added. "They are friends, at least they used to be. He's been mom's boss for ages and Harrison overheard his dad talk about work. He always said, that his father would do anything to keep my mom away from danger. I've heard his father talk to dad and assure him, that he'd always keep mom safe."

"That's assuring," Jason commented.

"Don't worry, Jace, if it was serious dad would tell us. And if something was happening in the world, then it would be all around the news, but the world seems pretty good right now," Stevie continued.

"Yeah, the news is always accurate," Jason said sarcastically.

Stevie looked down. "Well, dad always got a call. If mom was away and something had happened, then they would call dad, he'd go to the office and he'd be told. He hasn't gotten that call," Stevie said seriously.

"Yet," Jason added.

Stevie repeated it.

"Look, it's Ali's birthday tomorrow, you should think about that," she tried to change the topic.

"And for the first time mom won't be here," Jason said, not convinced.

Stevie wrapped her hand around her little brother and tried to comfort him. Maybe Jason wasn't as oblivious as they thought?

"Mom's fine. She's tough, she's strong. She was CIA agent and a damn good one. She knows how to take care of herself and she has her security. She's trying to make the world a better place for us and I know for a fact that she's doing the best she could to get back to us," Stevie said with strong unfaltering voice. She believed every word she said and she knew that her mother would come back to them, she'd do anything to get back. Stevie vaguely saw her mother being broken down after few of the missions, she was fragile and shell of a woman Stevie knew, but she caught just the glimpses, because her parents tried to hide it the best they could. Stevie was the eldest, she remembered that, she saw that, but Jason did not need to know that.

Jason gave up. He stood from the bed. "I hope you're right," he said and left Stevie's room.

Stevie sighed heavily. Yeah, she was just as worried as Jason, as Alison and their father were. And she really hoped their mother was fine and with any luck she's gonna walk through the doors tomorrow with a smile on her face and hug them all again. She really hoped that would happen.

***MSec***

Ali's birthday morning was just as fun as he remembered and then everybody went back to work or to school.

And the afternoon was as cozy as ever – Stevie reading a book, Ali and their dad playing chess and Jason was on his tablet.

There it was - a coup in Iran.

His family seemed to take the news rather well, no sign that their mother could be there or could she be there? There was a slight change in his father – he was distracted, worried, maybe even scared. Testament to that was Ali nearly beating him in chess.

And then it came.

A phone call.

His father excused himself and said it was about work. Yeah, right. He was a teacher, he'd never have to run to work that urgently. Something had happened. He got the call just like Stevie said. And they were kept in the dark.

Stevie and Alison seemed to be oblivious to the coup, they seemed not to care, so Jason escaped to his room to read, to research, to worry, to panic.

He heard his sisters talk in hushed voices, but they have been doing it forever, probably it was something about the guys. Everything seemed normal. Maybe he was worried for nothing? Maybe his mother was in Switzerland having a tea party or in New York meeting ambassador of Bolivia? Maybe his mother was in Iran?

It was hours later, when he heard his dad return. He came down to see what was happening. If it was about mom, then his dad would tell him, right? They all looked serious, but they didn't say anything about their mother, he didn't ask. So, they had a laffy string fight and Jason really liked that. They were all smiling and laughing and happy. If something was wrong then they wouldn't be, right? Maybe there was some religion crisis in the university and his father was called there?

He brushed it off – his mother was okay, she was not in Iran. She was somewhere else, safe and sound and she'd be back in a few days with Swiss chocolate or something of the sorts. She was fine.

That night he fell asleep quickly. He heard his father check up on him, but he fell back asleep easily.

The morning after it was all joy at the kitchen.

"What happened?" Jason asked.

"Mom's coming back today," his father said and gave Jason some bacon.

See, everything was okay. His mother would be back and all would go back to normal.

True, it was hours later, when the motorcade arrived in front of the house.

"Mom's back," his father shouted from downstairs. Soon the front door opened and his mom walked in.

Jason saw how his mother almost fell into his father's open arms, just as much as his father almost pulled her in. He noticed the empty, cold look she had over his father's shoulder.

Alison and Stevie ran down and hugged her mother with bright smiles. And Jason joined in. He saw the smile on her mother's face, when his sisters released her and she turned to hug him. She was fine.

There was nothing to worry about.

Except they don't usually run to their mother, when she walked through the doors. Yeah, sure their father does, but not Stevie, Alison and him. They don't usually hug her like that when she gets home from work trips. They don't usually look relieved to have her home again. They don't usually look happy to see her alive again.

That was different as well.


	2. Behind Closed Doors

The news broke that night. They all saw the speech Conrad Dalton gave, but it was late and their father simply said that their mother was tired and she was sleeping. Jason doubted that. So, she had been in Iran and nobody informed him. They didn't even know if her mother had any injuries. They didn't know if she really was as fine as their father insisted.

That was completely normal though. Their parents were good at shielding, covering up and keeping a lot of things secret from their kids. Jason appreciated that most of the time. He knew his parents fought just like any couple did, but he rarely heard anything other than muffled voices from their bedroom late at night or hushed conversations in the living room. It was the coldness, when they said goodbye in the mornings or the lack of physical contact during the nights or simply the fact that they didn't share any kisses in the evenings. Occasionally it was just the fact that his father wasn't reading in an armchair by the front door to welcome his mother back home. But these were small things, and they always went away. Jason was thankful for that.

He woke up just a little past midnight and he really needed to pee. So, Jason got up and walked through the quiet hallway to the bathroom. On his way back he heard some voices from his parents' room and for a moment he felt the urge to rush back to his room, close the door and put his earphones on, but something stopped him.

"Elizabeth, talk to me," his dad demanded.

"There is nothing to talk about," his mom replied.

"So you went to Iran, saw your friend die, nearly died yourself and that's nothing?" he heard his father say loudly. What the hell happened there?

"Henry, I'm tired," she said weakly.

"Babe, I'm just worried about you," Jason heard his father say ever so gently. He could almost see him pleading and wrapping his arms around her, that seemed to be the cure for his mother almost every time.

"I'm fine," she said. His mother was cold, almost as if she wasn't even there, like she was indifferent.

Then there was silence.

"Elizabeth, I just had to wake you from your nightmare, so you don't pull all your stitches. You're not fine," his father said. It was a statement and there is no way his mother could fight against it.

What? His mother had been hurt? He really wanted to know what had happened to his mother in those days and he really wanted to know how badly she'd been hurt. On the other hand Jason wanted to leave his parents alone and give them some privacy, but he found himself unable to move. Maybe he wanted to know what happened behind the closed doors.

"I'm sorry I woke you," his mother said sincerely. "But I don't wanna talk about it now," she said and Jason knew the tone – it meant that this was it, there was no room to negotiate. Wonder if she used the same tone at work and foreign diplomats knew not to cross after that either or did she just use that with her family.

There was a long silence.

"You think you can fall back asleep?" he asked.

"I'll try," his mother replied.

"Matt said that there are sleeping pills in your bag," his father said.

"I don't want any pills," his mother was firm.

Jason could almost see his father resign and wait for his mother to say or do something. It was all quiet.

"You're bleeding," his father said.

"Where? Which one is it?" she asked.

Which one? If she had to ask that question, then it meant more than just one injury. Jason became worried. He still thought his parents were like superheroes – nothing could hurt them. He thought they were invincible.

Not anymore.

"It's your left hand, babe," his father said calmly.

There was silence, then he heard her mother curse and soon after that there was some water running in the bathroom. There were footsteps and muffled voices, but Jason couldn't figure out what was said. He heard the water being turned off, footsteps again and then the voices became clear again.

"We should talk with kids about it," his father suggested and Jason agreed with him.

"Conrad made a statement, they know what happened," his mother replied. Jason could name so many things that he still didn't know but wanted to know.

"I don't mean that. They might wanna hear from you, what went down and the fact that you were injured. They will want to hear their mother's side not the press release from the president," his father reasoned.

Jason could only hope that his mother would agree.

"Babe, the kids might see something, it'll be worse for both of us then. Besides we promised transparency in this house," his father argued.

"Well, I'm not gonna be walking around the house naked, am I?" his mother fought back.

Jason could hear his father raising his eyebrows and tilting his head.

"I always wear long sleeves and the cuts will heal. It's not like we have to mask a gunshot would this time," she said with venom in her voice.

Wait, what? His mother had been shot and he didn't know? Or maybe his father had been shot? Nobody was telling him anything.

"The kids were so young then. It was way before Jason was even born," his father explained.

Silence took over once again. Jason heard the bed creak a little and some rumbling of the blankets.

"Do you really think Stevie believed the appendicitis cover?" his mother asked.

"It was different," his father fought back.

"How?"

"You were CIA then and Stevie was only six at the time. She didn't understand the complexity and the dangers of your work, but now they do. Except now you're the lead diplomat of our country not CIA operative," his father explained.

"I was CIA analyst," his mother corrected.

"Yes, you were supposed to have a desk in DC, but you were all around the world doing god knows what," his father accused.

Wait, Jason barely knew anything from her time at the CIA. True, she had quit long before he could remember, but Stevie and Alison were older. They had never talked about their mother being hurt.

"I was doing my job. You went off to war right after we got married," his mother accused.

"You married a marine."

"You married a spy."

Silence fell over the room again. Jason didn't like where it was heading, he also didn't like the way his parents were fighting. He liked even less the fact that their parents had some habit of lying to their kids and while he liked some shielding, he didn't approve of it much this time. There wasn't anything about the conversation that Jason liked.

"You are no longer in the CIA and your trips aren't secret anymore. They used to believe that you are invincible superhero, but you are not. And the kids aren't in preschool anymore. Stevie and Alison figured out that you were in Iran. I had to tell them that you were missing and they were there, when I got the call that you're fine. They were really worried about you and it would be good for them to hear what happened from you," his father explained.

Jason felt anger towards his father and sisters – they all know where mom was, but didn't tell him. They let him play video games and joke around with laffy strings, while their mother was lost in the middle of coup in Iran.

"And Jason?" his mother asked with concern in her voice.

"He didn't know," his father said. Jason wanted to disagree, but he couldn't interrupt. "Stevie and Alison didn't say anything to him. They were really good sisters."

Jason disagreed with his father again. They were not good sisters for keeping secrets from him. Jason had the right to know just like everybody else. She was his mother too.

"I'll talk to the girls," his mother said in defeat.

"Thank you," his father said.

What about him? She'd talk to his sisters, but Jason has the same right to know about things. He wants -needs – to know everything. He was so worried about his mother as well and he was done being out of loop.

"And Jason too, I need to talk with him as well," his mother decided.

Finally something he could agree on. About time he would be considered like an actual member of the family and be told about things.

"Babe, they just want to know if their mother is okay and they need to hear that from you," his father said.

Jason agreed with dad too. He heard some more rumbling of the blankets, movement on the bed and then he was fairly certain what was kissing.

"Henry," her mother protested. "I am way too tired to have sex."

On that note, Jason found his feet again and quietly walked back to his room. He didn't hear his father's protest on how he wasn't expecting sex. Jason heard too much already and maybe tomorrow he'd confront _anybody _in regards of what really happened.

***MSec***

Oddly enough the next day Madam Secretary acted like nothing had happened. Over the next few days they barely saw her – occasionally she left before anyone else woke up and came back after they were already asleep. Honestly, there wasn't much different about it anyway.

Jason heard her parents disagree, it was mainly his father suggesting that his mother needed to slow down and take it easy. Her mother of course had a mind of her own and she did whatever she wanted.

And even though Jason knew that everything wasn't okay, to an outsider it might have seemed like it. Oh, and his mother never talked with him about what had happened. As he learned the night before, that was normal.

If she would talk with him about her job and the nature of her trips, then that would be something out of the ordinary. That would be different.


	3. Jason

Jason had always played video games and it was quite often he was playing shooter games. Nobody had ever had problems with them, in fact his father was quite often playing with him and Stevie had done the same on few occasions.

It was one morning less than a week after that blasted trip to Iran, when he was playing like usual, he heard his mother coming behind him and staying there.

"Morning mom," he said.

"Morning, Jace," she replied.

She stayed there quietly watching at the game and Jason didn't really mind. He didn't know what to say either. It was quite awhile later, when his father joined them and quickly turned off his game. And Jason knew for a fact that his father was okay with him playing that game. So there must have been something about his mother…

Everything seemed to be normal. There was this banter in the morning, true their mother was the least active participant, but she was there, she was laughing and talking. It seemed to be all normal. His mother was working slightly more than before and she was barely home, but that wasn't anything new. Despite everybody knowing about Iran, it was never spoken about at the McCord house, their life went on as if nothing had happened.

It was so normal that Jason wasn't thinking about it for a moment. That moment lasted just long enough for him to say something wrong.

_Shoot me now._

Out of all the things he could've said, he had to go with that. Yeah, everybody reacted to that, only Alison and Stevie reprimanded him. His parents sent looks and his mother left hurriedly.

Jason felt the disappointment radiating from her and the judgement from his father, but they didn't say anything and that was even worse. He messed up again.

***MSec***

The next morning was the morning Jason had been waiting for, but when it arrived, he didn't want it anymore. He was excited to go back to school, but not like this. In the morning there was a security guy waiting for him – apparently he had a bodyguard now. Against his wishes of course and seemingly against his father's wishes as well.

Jason had noticed how his mother had been looking at him and he didn't know what it meant. She looked at him like he might disappear, yet he was living a perfectly safe life in DC. He was not in danger, Stevie, Alison and his father didn't have any security, but he had to have the biggest guy ever. The tone his mother was using told him that there is no room to argue and his father finished the discussion.

Jason had no word in it and seemed like his parents were fighting each other, he was just in the middle of it. Jason hated that. He hated the fact that his parents were fighting and yelling at each other more than anything. Even more so he disliked being the reason for them to disagree. He felt like Cuba in Cold War age.

He hated the guy following him around, it reminded him how he really wasn't like any other kid. His mother is forth in line for presidency, and now she felt like he needed to be protected. Jason disagreed.

At the end of the day nothing happened and his first day at new school was okay. He wanted to say that to his parents, but as usual, his mother was not home. She got back after Jason was already asleep and the next morning she was gone before he woke up. His father said that she'd been home.

Jason really wanted to make sure his parents knew how unnecessary the bodyguard was, but his mother seemed to avoid him.

Then it happened. It was just before his classes ended, that his father called with the news, that she had a panic attack. He went with the company line that everything is fine and she's gonna go back to work. He didn't say much, he didn't want Jason to worry obviously.

That night his mother was home, but according to his father, she was resting and so she was absent from the dinner. After everybody went to do their own thing. Jason found himself knocking on Stevie's door again.

"What's bothering you?" Stevie asked.

"Mom," Jason replied.

"Is it about the bodyguard you have?" Stevie asked.

Jason shook his head. "No, it's not about it," Jason voiced his thoughts. "It is about mom though."

"She's fine, I was at the hospital. It was a panic attack," Stevie said.

Jason shook his head. "Do you know what happened in Iran?" he asked.

Stevie looked completely taken back and she seemed to have lost her words. "No, she hasn't talked about it," Stevie said.

"Does dad know?" Jason asked.

Stevie shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I think she has talked with him, but I haven't heard anything," she voiced.

Jason hopped on her bed beside her.

"Was it like this, when she was at the CIA?" he asked.

Stevie thought for a moment. "It was like that a few times that I can remember," she said.

"How'd you know she was fine?" Jason asked.

Stevie took a deep breath. "I don't remember that much. And you know how much mom and dad hide certain things from us. I was much younger then and the shields were up even further," Stevie said.

"There was this one time, when she'd been gone much longer than she told us and dad looked scared all the time. I knew he occasionally got some calls and then he disappeared. Once Conrad showed up and they had pretty serious conversation. I heard dad tell you bedtime stories about mom like she was gone and how he told Ali and me how much we looked like mom," Stevie said. "Except Ali doesn't look much like mom," Jason interrupted. Stevie shrugged her shoulders. "She got back weeks later and I remember I was so happy, everybody was happy. Even you, and you were still a baby. I remember seeing mom flinch at certain movements, I saw the pill bottles she was carrying around, but she didn't say much. Dad warned us and said to be gentle with her, but she never said anything. First days she was gone a lot, and when she was home, she was distant. I remember she was sleeping in our room quite often and you were sleeping in their room. But she got better and soon she went back to working her irregular hours in the office. I know something had happened, but she never said a word," Stevie finished.

"So if something could've been really wrong and you didn't know?" Jason clarified.

Stevie nodded reluctantly.

"But you think everything is fine now?" Jason asked.

"I know she needed medical assistance after Iran, but I don't think it's too bad," Stevie said.

Jason seemed to believe her. He hopped off the bed and left without saying a word. He didn't know if Stevie was lying or not. He also wasn't sure if he should believe her or not.

***MSec***

That night Jason woke up in the middle of the night, but she was not alone in the bed. He turned around and saw it was his mother. Madam Secretary, the woman of the hour – a mother Jason has barely seen in the past week was there.

She was sleeping peacefully. Jason still remembered the time he accidentally heard about her nightmare. She was breathing evenly and there was a slight smile on his face. For a moment he thought about going to wake his dad, so he'd know where mom was. He didn't.

For that moment she seemed like the mother he knew before Iran and he desperately wanted that. For some reason unknown it seemed like she needed this, like she needed to make sure he was okay, it almost seemed like her worry for her other kids was non-existent.

Jason would never admit it out loud, but he needed his mother too. He needed to know that she was well and alive. In this moment she was and he could only hope that he'd get his annoyingly affectious, caring, loving and incredibly brave mother back. And that said mother would realize that he is safe and he can go to school like any other normal kid.

In the morning his mother was gone before Jason woke up. She was already at the office, when Jason came down the stairs. And it was Sunday.

"Kids, mom's gonna be on Face the Nation this morning, so I expect everybody to be in the living room for that," his dad said.

"We didn't forget," Stevie said.

They all made their breakfast and gathered around the TV for when the program came on and Elizabeth McCord looked back at them. There it was. The story. All the McCords heard that for the first time with the rest of the country.

It all started to make sense.

Overprotectiveness. Security guard. Sleeping in his bed.

It was lunchtime, when she was back at home. Jason jumped off the couch and met her in the hallway. She had dropped her briefcase on the floor and her coat on a table by the door.

"Mom," he greeted her.

"Hey, Jace," she greeted with a smile. "Where is the rest of the gang?"

"They went to get groceries," Jason said.

"And you wanted to finish your game?" she asked.

Jason didn't reply.

He closed the distance and hugged his mother. Something he didn't too as often. She hugged him back just the same, it was like the day she came back from Iran.

"Everything okay, Jason?" she asked, she seemed alerted or worried, but nothing was wrong. Jason just felt like hugging his mom.

Jason nodded against her.

"I saw the interview," he said.

"You and the rest of America," she added.

"Mom, I am not that kid," he said firmly.

"Well, you are my kid," she replied, not quite sure what he was aiming.

Jason released her. "I am not that kid in that house. The kid, who saw his father murdered," Jason explained.

"Abdul," she clarified.

Jason ignored it. "I am not Abdul, I wasn't there. And I am not in danger," he said.

She breathed out heavily. "I know that," she said.

"Mom, I don't need protection," he said seriously.

"I know, baby," she replied heavily.

She hugged Jason again. "I'm sorry, Jace, I haven't been myself lately and I am still working through some things," she said honestly.

"Yeah, I saw the program," Jason replied. "I don't think anybody expects you to be fine," he added.

His mother smiled a little. "Except me," she said. "And the White House," she added.

"Screw the White House," ha said with anger.

"Jason," his mother reprimanded.

"I might not say that often, but I still need my mom, so don't die, okay?" he said and felt suddenly vulnerable.

"Oh, Jace," his mother replied gently and hugged him once more. He felt her lips on the top of his head. "I will always come back home to you guys," she promised.

"And I will not go anywhere either mom, you don't need to be afraid," Jason said firmly.

She closed her eyes, cursed in her head and held Jason tight against her. "Abdul was about your age and I wanted to protect him so badly, but I couldn't. I kept yelling for him to stay down, that was the only thing I could do, before Javani's detail rushed us out of the house. I couldn't keep him safe and all I could think about was how much he was like you. I promised myself right then that I would do anything to protect you. I just want you to be safe, Jason," she said earnestly. Jason could feel the heavy weight in her tone and the insecurity she felt towards him.

"Mom, I am safe," Jason assured.

Jason let go of his mother and glanced at her seriously.

"I don't need the bodyguard," he said.

"I know," she acknowledged it once more.

Jason looked at her seriously, trying to make sure she knew how safe he was and how he didn't need a security guy.

"I'll call diplomatic security tomorrow," she promised.

"Thank you," Jason said. "Mom, I love you," he added.

Elizabeth smiled and meant it for the first time in what felt like forever. "I love you too, son," she replied. She put her arm around Jason and led her back towards the couch.

"You wanna teach me how to play your game, so your dad can stop telling me how bad I am?" she asked.

"Sure, mom," Jason replied.

Together they went to the couch and started playing again with Jason constantly telling his mother what to do and how to play it.

It wasn't the same, but it felt more and more like the time before Iran. Before everything went down and before it went bad. It was getting back to the normal, or to the new normal for the McCord family.

It didn't feel different anymore.


End file.
